Floating grain lifter



D 7, 1957 A. E. FISHER 2,816,412

FLOATING GRAIN. LIFTER Filed May 18, 1956 AlQi E/sw keg United StatesPatent FLOATING GRAIN LIFTER Anton Edward Fisher, Calgary, Alberta,Canada Application May 18, 1956, Serial No. 585,732

1 Claim. (Cl. 56-312) My invention relates to pick-up attachments forgrain harvesters, having reference to improvements on a device for whicha patent was issued to me in the United States of America on the 14thday of February, 1956, under No. 2,734,332.

The purpose of the present device is to provide certain improvements onthe pick-up attachment as disclosed in the above patent, designed tomaterially lessen the manufacturing and shipping costs and make thedevice more readily marketable.

To this end I have improved the pivotal mounting for the runner byproviding a single casting fixed to the runner and thereby simplifyingthe manufacturing and assembly of these parts; and there has furtherbeen provided an improved runner and tail piece formed of a single pieceof tubular material.

Additional to the foregoing I have provided improved means by which therunner may be secured to different makes of harvesters in which thecutting bar bolt spacings vary.

Other features and advantages of the improvements will become apparentby reference to the accompanying description taken with the drawingswherein like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout thedifferent view and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a grain lifter embodying my improvements, shownas in attachment to a harvester cutting bar and with parts broken awayand in section.

Fig. 2 shows a top plan view of the device as illustrated in Figure 1.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged side view of an eye bolt for attachment of therunner to the cutting bar.

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of a fragment of a runner, partly broken awayand sectioned, and illustrating a somewhat different form of attachingbracket for the runner.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the parts shown in Figure 4, but with the rearend of the tail piece broken away and the attaching angle bracketsomitted.

Fig. 6 shows an enlarged fragment of a shaft for attachment of therunner bracket shown in Figures 4 and 5, and including an attachingangle bracket and bolt, the latter being shown broken away.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the showing in Figure 6, but including afull view of the bolt end together with its attaching nut.

Having reference to the drawings 1 indicates a runner with shoe 2 andfinger 3 at the forward end. The runner rearwardly bends to provide anintegral tail piece 4 extending rearwardly parallel with the runner, thetail piece including a flat end 5 for bearing fiat against the underside of the harvester table 18. This runner and tail piece are formed oflight weight tubular material, steel or an alloy, avoiding the cost ofconnecting the tail piece and runner together as in the previous patentand materially lowering the weight, which is important 2,8 1 6,412Patented Dec. 17, 1957 in shipping by express, as is the method largelyemployed in delivery of articles of this kind.

For attachment of the runner to the harvester I provide a bracket formedof a single iece of material having front end portions 6-6 that arefixed to the sides of the runner and outwardly projecting side members 7and 8 extending back from the front end portions. These side members arejoined at the rear by a cross bar 9 supported by an upright 10 on thetail piece.

The cross bar 9 has inwardly turned cars 11 at the ends and spaced tothe inside of these are further cars 12. In the pairs of ears so formedare carried pins or bolts 13 on which the heads 15 of the eye bolts 14engage to pivotally attach the runner mounting bracket to the cuttingbar 17 of the harvester. The heads 15 of the eye bolts 14 are formedoffset from the bolt shanks, as is more readily apparent by reference toFigure 3, to facilitate attachment in certain types of harvesters whereonly a small space is available for the bolt heads. Washers 14' areprovided for the bolts.

In Figures 4 and 5 is shown a runner mounting bracket that is formed ofa single piece of material that has been moulded to fit on top of therunner and provides lateral wings 21 and 22. The rear end portion ofthis bracket curves upwardly at 23 and in this a rod or shaft 24 isfixed. This bracket projects rearwardly of the downward bend in therunner, such amount as may be required, and may be supported on the tailpiece in the manner shown by the support 10 in Figures 1 and 2.

The shaft 24 carries at the ends angle brackets 25 formed each of twolegs right angular the one to the other, the brackets providing openingsat 26 to engage the shaft 24 in one leg and further openings 27 in theother leg by which bolts 28 may be used for attachment to the cuttingbar 17 in place of the eye bolts 14. Cotter pins 29 are used to retainthe angle brackets 25 on the shaft 24.

Such an arrangement provides for considerable variation in the spacingof the bolt holes in the cutting bar of the harvester. These brackets 25may also be used engaging the bolts 13 of the runner mounting bracketshown in Figures 1 and 2 in place of the eye bolts 14 to accommodate theattachment of the runner bracket in this showing to different makes ofharvesters.

In the use of the device the runner pivots in the heads 15 of the eyebolts 14, which bolts 14 replace the bolts already in use in the cuttingbar of the harvester. These replaced bolts may be used to provide thebolts 13 of the runner attaching bracket.

Essentially the two forms of bracket function the same, other than thatthe means for pivotally attaching the brackets varies. In the showing inFigures 4 and 5 a single shaft is employed and in this the anglebrackets 24 replace the eye bolts 14 by the use of bolts 28. It is to beunderstood that such a shaft and angle brackets could be used in therunner attaching bracket shown in Figures 1 and 2, or the angle bracketscould engage the bolts 13, these angle brackets being thus adapted foruse with either form of runner attaching bracket.

While I have herein disclosed preferred embodiments of my improvements,changes would be readily conceivable, but in so far as such changes comewithin the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims they would be considered a part hereof.

Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention what I claim and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a grain lifter for attachment to a harvester for travel in advancethereof, said harvester including a cutting bar providing bolt openingsat uniform intervals and said lifter including a runner, means forsuspending the lifter by bolts engageable in the bolt openings 3 of thecutting bar, said means comprising a bracket ing laterally of thebracket and adapted for engagement formed of a single piece of materialhaving a moulded by openings in angle brackets free to turn therein.portion extending lengthwise thereof and conforming to the contour ofthe upper side of the runner by which References Cit d i the file Ofthis Patent the bracket may be seated on the runner to be fixed 5 UNITEDSTATES PATENTS thereon, and the rear portion of the bracket is rolledback on itself to form a seat extending transversely of 2214965 LoveSept 1940 the bracket, and a rod fixed in the seat formed in the 2552623Dye May 195] rear portion of the bracket, the ends of the rod extend-2734332 Fisher 1956

